Faisal Mohammad, suspect in stabbing spree at UC Merced, had manifesto in pocket, was angry he was kicked out of study group

Authorities found an angry manifesto in the pocket of freshman Faisal Mohammad that detailed the chilling plot and a motive.

The deranged 18-year-old student who stabbed four people at a California college Wednesday planned to hold classmates hostage with zip ties, ambush an officer for a gun and go on a shooting rampage with named targets – all because of a petty teen grudge, police said Thursday.

Authorities found an angry manifesto in the pocket of freshman Faisal Mohammad that detailed the chilling plot and a motive unrelated to organized hate groups or terrorism, authorities said.

Advertisement

"We had an upset teenager who was upset because he got kicked out of a study group," Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said at a press conference Thursday night.

The sheriff said the computer science and engineering major packed flexible handcuffs, two rolls of duct tape, two plastic baggies of petroleum jelly, a night vision scope and a safety hammer in his backpack before going berserk at the University of California, Merced, with a hunting knife.

According to the manifesto, Mohammad planned to "squirt" the petroleum jelly on the floor to create a "slip and slide" for anyone entering the classroom, the sheriff said.

He believed he could "ambush a police officer and try and get their gun," Warnke said.

"I think he had visions of grandeur," the sheriff continued. "He had a pretty elaborate plan."

Mohammad identified fellow students by name and also made a reference to Allah in his writing, the sheriff said.

Faisal Mohammad was shot after a stabbing spree on the University of California at Merced campus. (University of California Merced)

But the incident involved only a disturbed teenager bent on revenge, not someone with a religious or political agenda, he reiterated.

With classes canceled for a second day and tensions high, UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland also stressed that Mohammad had no known ties to terror groups, despite an ISIS affiliated Twitter post that praised his actions after he was shot dead by police.

"Based on the evidence gathered so far, which include the crime scene and the suspect's campus dormitory room, we have no reason to believe that this was in any way related to terrorism," Chancellor Leland said.

Sheriff Warnke said the FBI did a comprehensive background check on Mohammad and his family and found no red flags.

"We had zero to indicate he was on anyone's radar," Warnke said.

He said the ISIS tweet most likely was an effort to capitalize on the attacker's name and instill panic, local station KFSN-TV reported.

Mohammad's violent plot started early Wednesday when he burst into a second-floor classroom with his hunting blade and stabbed two people around 8 a.m., authorities and a witness who is being hailed a hero said.

A Merced County Sheriff officer tells University of California, Merced student Daniel Neff, 21, of Long Beach, to turn around after he tried to enter the campus which is on lockdown following a stabbing in Merced, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015. (Andrew Kuhn/AP)

Construction worker Byron Price, 31, said he was working on a project nearby when he heard a woman screaming and thought a teacher needed help breaking up a fight.

Advertisement

Price raced to the room and found Mohammad standing by the door, blocking anyone from leaving.